Guilty Plea Offered In Killing of Sheriff

Published: January 18, 2003

SOMERSET, Ky., Jan. 17—
A man charged in the political assassination of the Pulaski County sheriff last year at a campaign rally pleaded guilty to murder today in a deal expected to spare his life.

The defendant, Danny Shelley, was the triggerman in the killing of Sheriff Sam Catron and agreed to testify against a former candidate for sheriff, Jeff Morris, and a Morris campaign aide, Kenneth White.

Mr. Morris, 35, and Mr. White, 55, are charged with complicity to murder a police officer. Each has pleaded not guilty.

Investigators say the killing was orchestrated by Mr. Morris and Mr. White because Sheriff Catron was heavily favored for re-election.

Sheriff Catron, 48, was seeking a fifth term when he was shot on April 13 minutes after a campaign speech. He was hit in the head by a single bullet fired from a nearby hillside.

Mr. Morris was arrested within days of the shooting. In May he lost the Republican primary to a police detective endorsed by Sheriff Catron's widow.

Sentencing for Mr. Shelley, 31, was set for March 3. Under the plea agreement, the state agreed to recommend life in prison, without parole for at least 25 years.

Trial dates for Mr. Morris and Mr. White have not been set.

The killing was the second involving a candidate for sheriff in Kentucky last spring. In Harlan County, a former sheriff who hoped to regain the office, Paul Browning Jr., was found shot in the head last March as the primary season began.